Isabel Mestres: Celebrating Kumasi’s Cancer Care Impact and Local Leadership
Isabel Mestres, CEO of the City Cancer Challenge (C/Can), shared a post on LinkedIn:
“As I read through Kumasi’s impact report last night, I was reminded of the power of local leadership and global collaboration to drive lasting change. Since joining the City Cancer Challenge (C/Can) network in 2018, Kumasi, Ghana has among others:
- Established a digital referral network for childhood cancer, boosting referrals 3.5-fold.
- Created a city-wide laboratory information system to improve quality and turnaround times.
- Strengthened Kumasi’s cancer registry and developed national guidelines for breast and cervical cancer.
- Expanded diagnostic infrastructure and trained over 300 health professionals.
Now, as Kumasi enters Cycle 2 (2024–2026), the city is going further with a bold set of initiatives to streamline the cancer patient journey, including:
- Four new breastcancer projects focused on continuity of care, timely and quality diagnosis, multimodal treatment planning, and earlier detection.
- Expansion of the paediatric oncology referral network from 24 to 50 facilities, powered by the OncoKids digital platform.
- Launch of a digital platform for multidisciplinary teams, connecting hospitals across the Ashanti region.
- A partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to explore innovative financing for cancercare.
As this work advances, we look forward to working closely with our partners and the national government to scale Kumasi’s progress across Ghana, ensuring more patients benefit from these solutions.
Congratulations first and foremost to all the Kumasi stakeholders engaged in the C/Can model, Peace and Love Hospital, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), HopeXchange Medical Centre, KNUST Hospital, Ministry Of Health, Ghana, Kumasi Metropolitan District, led by our outstanding City Manager, Jaliu Abubakari, for driving this transformative work together with Kumasi’s institutions and partners.
I invite you to discover more in the full impact report.”
More posts featuring Isabel Mestres.
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Challenging the Status Quo in Colorectal Cancer 2024
December 6-8, 2024
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ESMO 2024 Congress
September 13-17, 2024
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ASCO Annual Meeting
May 30 - June 4, 2024
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Yvonne Award 2024
May 31, 2024
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OncoThon 2024, Online
Feb. 15, 2024
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Global Summit on War & Cancer 2023, Online
Dec. 14-16, 2023